Souths without Inglis for rest of season
Greg Inglis told Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire he wanted to play on in the second half of South Sydney’s demoralising opening-round loss as the club yesterday defended its handling of the representative star’s season-ending knee injury.
Inglis played for almost 50 minutes as a virtual passenger on Friday night but, remarkably, still managed to score a try.
The Rabbitohs received a crushing blow yesterday when it was confirmed the 30-year-old will need to have a knee reconstruction and be out for at least six months.
It virtually rules Inglis out of the rest of the NRL season, Queensland’s State of Origin campaign and casts doubt over whether he will be fit for Australia’s World Cup defence in October.
The Rabbitohs yesterday all but ruled out experimenting with a LARS knee reconstruction, which can halve recovery time, while resisting criticism of Inglis’ treatment by Souths’ medical staff.
The superstar was reduced to a near spectator on the field as his opposite James Tedesco ran riot for the Tigers and debutant Moses Suli had a field day.
‘‘We only found it was an ACL [yesterday] and had no idea on Friday night,’’ Rabbitohs general manager of football Shane Richardson said. ‘‘When he was assessed at halftime we didn’t think he could do any more damage – which he couldn’t – and there wasn’t [any more damage done].
‘‘The assessment was made by the medical staff at halftime and Greg wanted to go back on. He spoke to Madge [Maguire] a minute-and-a-half before they went back on because he was in the treatment room, and they said, ‘let’s give it a go’.
‘‘I, along with the rest of our club, have the greatest of confidence in our medical and coaching staff to make the best possible decisions about our players’ wellbeing.’’
The Rabbitohs were already undermanned in the backline during Friday night’s loss to the Wests Tigers after Hymel Hunt suffered match-ending concussion.
Inglis’ incredible fortitude to stay on the field is not the first case of an NRL star playing on with an anterior cruciate ligament tear – one of the most serious injuries a professional athlete can suffer – but it is now one of the more memorable.
The injury is to the opposite knee that has plagued Inglis for the past 18 months, but the Rabbitohs are confident their skipper will return to full health next year, having signed a contract that takes him through to the end of 2020.
‘‘Greg’s the long-term future of this club and we want to make sure he gets the best medical treatment possible,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘We’ll do whatever is best for Greg.
‘‘It’s not about getting back quick, it’s about getting him back properly. We’ll make sure the operation is a success and work out the timing of it afterwards.’’
The Rabbitohs are understood to have no wriggle room in the salary cap to scour for a replacement and remain confident their talented band of emerging players, headed by Braiden Burns, can help fill the void.
But they now have a mountain to climb to be even finals contenders without their inspirational No 1.
‘‘We’re not devoid of talent playing fullback, but Greg Inglis is arguably the best fullback in the world,’’ Richardson said.
‘‘You never know your luck and you’ve got to have confidence in the squad we’ve got. We’ve got to regroup and get on with things.’’
They will travel to Lottoland to take on Manly next Saturday.